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Home » Diets that Work » Letter: An Ayd Mill redo? Consider this parkway connector concept – St. Paul Pioneer Press

With the citys proposal to slow down Ayd Mill Road from four to two lanes, we are seeing yet another local transportation infrastructure venture catering to squeaky-wheel special interests while ignoring those who actually need to get to work or school on time. The disruptive Green Line, at 17 mph, is no faster than the bus it replaces, while the proposed 15 mph Riverview Modern Streetcar will actually be slower. Very few get to work faster or gain access to more jobs using these conveyances despite the billions spent and promises made.

Sadly, the Ayd Mill plan is really no different, slowing auto and future transit traffic over another key commute corridor to 80% of current speeds and to about half of what a reimagined thoroughfare could be. All this because the city lacks resources to rebuild AMR in kind, much less connect it to I-94, but yet has the funds to repave two of the AMR lanes as trails, even though less than 10% of city commutes are bike and hike while over 80% are transit and autos. Where is the equity in that?

The AMR corridor can, however, be redone to benefit all relevant stakeholders.

For starters, recognize that it is a regional thoroughfare and that the state, not the city, should rebuild it. An attractive option, then, would be a two-lane, limited access, auto/transit parkway fully connected to I-94, with neighborhood on/off points limited to the Allianz Field area and Randolph Street endpoints.

At quiet, 45 mph, nonstop parkway speeds, it would be more efficient than the stop-and-go city plan for AMR and more effective at keeping city and suburban cut-through traffic off nearby city streets.

The parallel bike and pedestrian trails would then move to the west side of the right-of-way to be more easily and safely connected to the neighborhood street/sidewalk grid and to trailside development opportunities. As such, there would be no stoplights encountered by cars, bikes or walkers and no additional right-of-way needed except for several acres where the I-94 connection would be built.

This Parkway Connector concept addresses some inconvenient realities:

First, auto traffic via the corridor is not going away because corridor jobs are not going away.

Eagan on the south end has over three times the industrial and office acreage as St. Pauls Midway area on the north. That differential will only grow as Eagan fills in and the Midway converts to apartments and condos to accommodate St. Pauls growing population and changing lifestyle preferences. These residents need efficient access to Eagan jobs as much as Eagan residents will still need to reach jobs in the cities. They might be in 50 mpg cars that drive themselves or 60-foot long bus trains, but they wont be riding bikes.

Second, the I-94 connection will help secure critical bi-partisan, regionally focused funding support that will need to go much deeper than the cash-strapped city plan.

There will be faster commutes, increased mobility, transportation-oriented development and construction jobs for one political stripe; transit equity, sustainability, bike paths and construction jobs for the other. What is there not to like or not to vote for?

And finally, the citys 2050 sustainability plan will be attained through technology, lifestyle changes and the fair and full pricing of carbon emissions, not punitive road diets that further congest neighborhood streets and frustrate neighborhood drivers.

Los Angeles, of all places, points the way here. Their air today is much cleaner than in 1970 thanks to catalytic converters, higher mileage cars and better transit, even though population is up 80%. That air will be cleaner still in 2050 for similar reasons.

If you agree that an AMR parkway connector concept can benefit all users, tell your elected officials Republicans and/or Democrats as much. Tell them that a better, safer AMR is possible that would also, for a change, be faster. What a novel idea.

Jerome Johnson, St Paul

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Letter: An Ayd Mill redo? Consider this parkway connector concept - St. Paul Pioneer Press

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Home » Diets that Work » Letter: An Ayd Mill redo? Consider this parkway connector concept – St. Paul Pioneer Press